Swing-over snow wing

ABSTRACT

A swing-over snow wing for a vehicle, such as a grader, loader, skidder, tractor or the like, being selectively operable on either side of the vehicle. Basically, the wing is horizontally hinged on the outer end of a radial arm that is rotatably mounted at its inner end on a horizontal axis extending longitudinally from the rear of the vehicle. Designed for use on either right or left side of the vehicle, the wing can be swung over from one side to the other in a matter of moments. This versatile swingover or two-way snow wing provides also for blade angling and tilt by the operator in the cab, utilizing hydraulic jacks with finger tip, self-centering controls. To rotate the radial arm, the main lifting jack is mounted to slide transversely of the vehicle under action of a secondary jack to carry the arm over top center. The wing is normally transported in overhead position, lying longitudinally, or in the line of travel, being first hinged closely alongside the vehicle when raised to overlie the rear engine hood where it is positively and securely locked off-center.

United States Patent 1 1 Ross 1 1 SWING-OVER SNOW WING Joseph Ross, 1201 Fell St., Nelson, British Columbia, Canada [22] Filed: June 3, 1974 [2]] Appl. No.: 475,411

[76] Inventor:

[52] U.S. Cl. 37/41; 172/225; 172/305;

172/459; 172/797 [51] Int. Cl. EOlH 5/06 [58] Field of Search 172/225, 305, 132, 224,

172/226, 227, 797, 459, 218, 223, 311; 37/50. 41, 42 R, 42 VL, 105

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS United Kingdom 172/223 1,902,287 9/1969 Germany 172/311 Primary Liraminer-Clifford D. Crowder Attorney, Agent, or FirmW. Irwin Haskett 5 7 ABSTRACT A swing-over snow wing for a vehicle, such as a grader, loader, skidder, tractor or the like, being selectively operable on either side of the vehicle. Basically, the wing is horizontally hinged on the outer end of a radial arm that is rotatably mounted at its inner end on a horizontal axis extending longitudinally from the rear of the vehicle. Designed for use on either right or left side of the vehicle, the wing can be swung over from one side to the other in a matter of moments. This versatile swing-over or two-way snow wing provides also for blade angling and tilt by the operator in the cab, utilizing hydraulic jacks with finger tip, selfcentering controls. To rotatethe radial arm, the main lifting jack is mounted to slide transversely of the vehicle under action of a secondary jack to carry the arm over top center. The wing is normally transported in overhead position, lying longitudinally, or in the line of travel, being first hinged closely alongside the vehicle when raised to overlie the rear engine hood where it is positively and securely locked off-center.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 SheetZofZ 3,908,289

SWING-OVER SNOW WING The present invention relates to a swing-over snow wing for a grader or like vehicle.

THE KNOWN ART Road machines such as graders, ditchers, snow plows, etcv provided with hinged adjustable side wings and powered by pneumatic jacks are well known, see Canadian Pat. Nos. 318,372; 411,010; and 514,047 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,964,617; 1,994,817; 2,218,512 and 2,547,680.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In road machines, graders, ditchers, snow plows etc. where side wings are used, it is customary to provide one wing on the right side or one wing on each side of the vehicle and to hingedly support the forward end of the wing on a vertical post or mast at the side of the vehicle frame. For the most part such wing assemblies are awkward and cumbersome, obstruct the view of the operator, block the vehicle cab doors, or limit the scope of the machines capacity and some require a two-man crew and many wasted man-hours of effort.

SUMMARY OF THIS INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a two-way snow wing that can be swung very quickly from one side of the vehicle to the other or raised into overhead transporting position without the operator leaving the vehicle cab.

A further object of the invention is to provide a swing-over snow wing apparatus carried by a frame that can be easily attached to or removed from the rear end of a road machine grader or like vehicle by one man with the assistance of a jackv A further object ofthe invention is to provide a snow wing of the character described that is both horizontally hingeable and vertically tiltable on the outer end of a rotatable radial arm.

A further object of the invention is to provide a swing-over snow wing apparatus for rear end mounting that causes no obstruction to the doors or windows of the vehicle cab and leaves the sides of the vehicle uncluttered by ancillary parts or related paraphernalia.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a two-way swing-over, rear mounted snow wing of the nature and for the purpose described that is characterized by enhanced utility, increased versatility, structural durability and easy and speedy attachment and operation, rendering the same commercially desirable.

To the accomplishment of these and related objects as shall become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

BRlEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be best understood and can be more clearly described when reference is had to the drawings forming a part of this disclosure wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

FIGv 1 is a plan view of the two-way snow wing as attached to the rear of a vehicle; and

FIG. 2 is an end elevation thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

A preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated and described herein shows a so-called snow wing, mounted on a road machine such as a conventional grader or similar rear engine vehicle, having the ability to operate on either side of the vehicle and to be swung over the vehicle to the other side when desired. The rear end-powered grader 1 is shown in dot dash outline and on the back of this an erect or vertical, transversely disposed frame 2 is removably attached. The frame includes a transversely spaced pair of side members 3 of rectangular shaped tubular members that converge toward the top being connected at their upper ends by a horizontal track 4. Across the lower end of frame 2 the side members 3 carry a transverse channel 5 open at the top and both ends with longitudinally spaced pair of vertical sides that support a centrally located, longitudinally extending, horizontal shaft 6. The frame is attached to the grader 1 by U-shaped brackets 7 welded on the forward side of the frame arms 3 that fit between and are bolted to the arms of the coventional tool bar commonly found on such road vehicles.

The swing-over ability of the snow wing or similar or comparable implement derives from utilizing the shaft 6 as the axis for the overhead rotation of the implement. Here the snow wing includes a radial arm 8 in the form of an elongated, rectangular-in-cross-section box pivoted at its inner end on the horizontal longitudinally extending shaft 6 between the arms of the frame channel 5 and reaching out beyond the wheels of the grader. Because of the depth of the radial arm 8 and the location of the shaft 6 in the open topped channel 5, the arm is free to rotate through an angle of more than At its outer end, the boxlike radial arm 8 has a forwardly extending part 9, giving the rotatable radial arm 8 an overall L-shaped configuration, and wherein the forwardly extending part 9 is rigidly secured to the radial reach of the box-like arm 8, coplanar therewith and disposed at right angles thereto. The radial arm 8 is rotated on its shaft 6 by an hydraulic jack 10 having a base member 11 slidable in said frame track 4 and a piston rod 12 connected to ajack shaft 13 exteriorly of the radial arm. The task of carrying the radial arm easily over dead center is simplified by projecting a bracket 14 from a side of the frame 2 and mounting a secondaryjack l5 thereon with its rod 16 coacting with the base member 11 of the first mentioned jack 10 to cause the base to slide along track 4 toward one end or the other.

As the swing-over implement carried by the rotatable radial arm is in this embodiment a snow wing, provision is made to both tilt and angle the wing blade. To this end, a pair of axially aligned longitudinally extending horizontal pivot pins 18 and 19 are suitably supported near the outer end of the box-like arm 8 and at the forward end of the forwardly extending part 9 respectively, providing the axis on which the wing blade 20 tilts, or hinges vertically. The second mentioned pivot pin 19 projects forwards of the front end of the part 9 being terminally shaped as a T with the cross-head arranged vertically to provide a pivot 21 engaged by a bracket 22 secured to the rear side of the blade 20 near its forward end and on which the blade 20 swings horizontally as it is angled. I

For tilting the wing blade 20, a crank shaft 23, located'in the box-like arm 8 and actuated by a jack 24,

carries a crank shaft arm exterior of the arm 8 with an offset pin 26. Teetering on the pivot pin 18 is a tilt arm 27 extending inwardly beyond crank shaft 23 and having an elongated slot 28 near its free end to slidingly accommodate the offset pin 26 of the crank shaft arm 25. Rigidly secured on the other end of tilt arm 27, outwardly of the pivot pin 18, is a hinge bracket 28 with a confronting hinge bracket 29 secured on the rear side of the wing blade 20 near its trailing end. The outer ends of a pair of toggle arms 30 and 31 connect respectively with these brackets 28 and 29 while a blade anglingjack 32 is operatively arranged between the toggle joint 33 and the wing blade pivot bracket 22. The toggle operatingjack 32 is preferably provided with an au tomatic kick-out emergency release to reduce the jolt caused when the blade contacts a solid obstruction. Blade angling and tilt operations are fully controlled from within the cab as is the swing-over of the wing blade arm, the several jacks powered by a low capacity hydraulic pump being operated by finger-tip selfcentering controls of conventional type available for such road machines.

For transporting and when the vehicle is being used for purposes other than winging, the snow wing is carried overhead but off-center with the radial arm 8 at an angle to the vertical as seen in dot-dot-dash outline in FIG. 2, where it is positively and securely locked in position by a bolt 34 on the frame 2 seated in keeper socket 35 in the rotatable radial arm 8. To transport the idle snow wing, the blade 20 is angled in close against the forward extension part 9 and when locked in overhead, off-center position it lies substantially horizontal and longitudinally of the vehicle and well within the wheel width thereof.

In use, the location and nature of the wing mounting gives excellent steering control of the vehicle and be cause it is installed on the rear of the grader, its weight of approximately 3500 pounds provides increased traction that is especially helpful when operating on adverse grades. The foregoing description is presented for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be regarded as restricting in any way the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. For a vehicle such as a grader or the like, a swingover snow wing, for operation on either side of such vehicle, including a radial arm rotatably mounted at one end on a horizontal axis extending longitudinally from the rear of the vehicle, the other end of said arm extending laterally beyond the side. of the vehicle; an elongated two-way wing blade horizontally hinged about an axis extending forwardly alongside the vehicle on said other end of said arm, said blade extending for-' wardly of the rear of said vehicle and alongside thereof; and means for rotating said arm about said horizontal axis through approximately 180 to swing said two-way wing blade over the vehicle from one side thereof to the other.

2. The snow wing device according to claim 1, having an erect transversely disposed frame for attachment to the rear of the vehicle including a transverse channel across its lower end said channel being open at the top and both ends and having a longitudinally spaced pair of vertical sides with a longitudinally extending horizontal shaft carried by the spaced sides of said channel, said shaft comprising the axis on which the inner end of said radial arm is rotatably mounted, said arm nesting in said channel, and wherein said arm rotating means includes ajack arranged between said radial arm and said frame.

3. The snow wing device according to claim 1,

wherein said arm rotating means includes an erect transversely disposed frame on said vehicle, a primary jack arranged between said arm and said frame and being transversely slidable with respect to the frame, and a secondary jack coacting with said primary jack to cause the same to slide transversely for carrying said rotatable radial arm over dead center.

4. The swing-over snow wing according to claim 1, wherein said rotatably mounted radial arm has a forwardly extending part on its outer end and a pair of axi ally aligned longitudinally extending horizontal pivot pins, one of the outer end of said arm and the other the forward end of said part providing the axis on which said wing blade is horizontally hinged.

5. The snow wing device according to claim 4, having a tilting arm rotatable on the first mentioned pivot pin and coacting with said wing blade, a jack-actuated crank carried by said radial arm and a crank arm connected with said tilting arm.

6. The snow wing device according to claim 5., wherein said wing blade has a bracket near its forward end horizontally hinged on a vertical pivot carried on said second mentioned pivot pin whereby said wing blade may be angled and means for angling said wing blade on said vertical pivot comprising a toggle having a pair of arms whose outer ends connect with said tilting arm and the rear end of said wing blade respectively and a jack arranged between said bracket and the joint where the toggle arms connect.

7. The swing-over snow wing according to claim 5, wherein said forwardly extending part is rigidly secured on the outer end of said radial arm and is coplanar therewith and at right angles thereto.

8. A swing-over snow wing according to claim 1, having means securing the two-way wing blade of said snow wing in forwardly extending overhead position for transporting by locking said radial arm againstrotation.

9. A swing-over snow wing according to claim I, hav ing locking means coacting with said radial arm for releasably securing said snow wing in overhead but offcenter position with said forwardly extending hinged wing blade in retracted, substantially horizontal longitudinally extending relation.

10. The snow wing device according to claim 9, wherein said locking means is a frame-carried bolt engageable with said radial arm. 

1. For a vehicle such as a grader or the like, a swing-over snow wing, for operation on either side of such vehicle, including a radial arm rotatably mounted at one end on a horizontal axis extending longitudinally from the rear of the vehicle, the other end of said arm extending laterally beyond the side of the vehicle; an elongated two-way wing blade horizontally hinged about an axis extending forwardly alongside the vehicle on said other end of said arm, said blade extending forwardly of the rear of said vehicle and alongside thereof; and means for rotating said arm about said horizontal axis through approximately 180* to swing said two-way wing blade over the vehicle from one side thereof to the other.
 2. The snow wing device according to claim 1, having an erect transversely disposed frame for attachment to the rear of the vehicle including a transverse channel across its lower end said channel being open at the top and both ends and having a longitudinally spaced pair of vertical sides with a longitudinally extending horizontal shaft carried by the spaced sides of said channel, said shaft comprising the axis on which the inner end of said radial arm is rotatably mounted, said arm nesting in said channel, and wherein said arm rotating means includes a jack arranged beTween said radial arm and said frame.
 3. The snow wing device according to claim 1, wherein said arm rotating means includes an erect transversely disposed frame on said vehicle, a primary jack arranged between said arm and said frame and being transversely slidable with respect to the frame, and a secondary jack coacting with said primary jack to cause the same to slide transversely for carrying said rotatable radial arm over dead center.
 4. The swing-over snow wing according to claim 1, wherein said rotatably mounted radial arm has a forwardly extending part on its outer end and a pair of axially aligned longitudinally extending horizontal pivot pins, one of the outer end of said arm and the other the forward end of said part providing the axis on which said wing blade is horizontally hinged.
 5. The snow wing device according to claim 4, having a tilting arm rotatable on the first mentioned pivot pin and coacting with said wing blade, a jack-actuated crank carried by said radial arm and a crank arm connected with said tilting arm.
 6. The snow wing device according to claim 5, wherein said wing blade has a bracket near its forward end horizontally hinged on a vertical pivot carried on said second mentioned pivot pin whereby said wing blade may be angled and means for angling said wing blade on said vertical pivot comprising a toggle having a pair of arms whose outer ends connect with said tilting arm and the rear end of said wing blade respectively and a jack arranged between said bracket and the joint where the toggle arms connect.
 7. The swing-over snow wing according to claim 5, wherein said forwardly extending part is rigidly secured on the outer end of said radial arm and is coplanar therewith and at right angles thereto.
 8. A swing-over snow wing according to claim 1, having means securing the two-way wing blade of said snow wing in forwardly extending overhead position for transporting by locking said radial arm against rotation.
 9. A swing-over snow wing according to claim 1, having locking means coacting with said radial arm for releasably securing said snow wing in overhead but off-center position with said forwardly extending hinged wing blade in retracted, substantially horizontal longitudinally extending relation.
 10. The snow wing device according to claim 9, wherein said locking means is a frame-carried bolt engageable with said radial arm. 